A Firm Foundation: How Insurance Supports the Economy

  • U.S. insurance industry net premiums written totaled $1.4 trillion in 2021, with premiums recorded by property/casualty (P/C) insurers accounting for 53 percent, and premiums by life/annuity insurers accounting for 47 percent, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
  • P/C insurance consists primarily of auto, homeowners and commercial insurance. Net premiums written for the sector totaled $715.9 billion in 2021.
  • The life/annuity insurance sector consists of annuities, accident and health, and life insurance. Net premiums written for the sector totaled $635.8 billion in 2021.
  • The U.S. insurance industry employed 2.8 million people in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Of those, 1.6 million worked for insurance companies, including life and health insurers (911,400 workers), P/C insurers (628,600 workers) and reinsurers (26,900 workers). The remaining 1.2 million people worked for insurance agencies, brokers and other insurance-related enterprises.

U.S. P/C And L/A Insurance Premiums, 2021 (1)

($ billions)

(1) P/C: net premiums written after reinsurance transactions, excludes state funds; life/annuity: premiums, annuity considerations (fees for annuity contracts) and deposit-type funds. Both sectors include accident and health insurance.

Source: NAIC data, sourced from S&P Global Market Intelligence, Insurance Information Institute.

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